


Measure for Measure

by Antares



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Dubious Consent, Guilt, Humiliation, M/M, Stargate SG-1 AU, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 06:39:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/923167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack falls into the hands of his enemy …</p>
            </blockquote>





	Measure for Measure

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Deutsch available: [Besiegt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4993003) by [Antares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares)
  * A translation of [Besiegt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4993003) by [Antares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antares/pseuds/Antares). 



> Many thanks to Saladscream for the wonderful beta and help and to Athor for giving me a push into the right direction when I was hopelessly stuck. Thanks a lot to both of you!

Defeated. – The enormity of the word rang through Colonel O’Neill’s head, numbing him, so that for a short moment in time the incredible tohubohu of the battlefield seemed to freeze before his eyes. The fearful neighing of the terrified horses, the desperate cries of the dying men, the distant rumble of canons, the clatter of swords, the oppressive heat and the stench of spilled blood and excrements formed one of those terrible yet vivid canvases he had so often admired. But now he was part of it, and not on the side of the victors.

With absolute clarity Jack recognized that this battle was lost. He was surrounded by the blue dragon standards of the enemy, his own mercenary soldiers fleeing cowardly and leaving the right flank unprotected to the forceful charge of the rival cavalry. Half an hour ago his father, the General, had ordered a strategic withdrawal but chaos had broken out and only Colonel O’Neill’s powerful presence had prevented the worst. A lot of the heavy military equipment had fallen into the hands of the adversaries but Jack hoped that at least the archery and part of the cavalry were safe.

Bit by bit his hearing was coming back, the unbelievable alarums and excursions gaining shape again. Slowly it registered upon him that his adjutant was trying to gain his attention in this turmoil. “Sir! Sir! We have to fall back! Immediately!” His horse was prancing nervously in front of O’Neill’s.

Instinctively, the colonel knew that it was too late, that they would never reach the safety of the retreating lines. But he couldn’t discourage his loyal aide-de-camp and nodded affirmatively. He turned his horse and in the same second he saw out of the corner of his eye with utter despair how his adjutant was pierced by an arrow directly to his throat. Disbelief was painted on the young man’s face before he slumped down on the back of his horse and finally fell to the swampy, muddy ground, bleeding to death.

“No!” With a fierce cry and blinded by rage, O’Neill attacked the nearest rider wearing the uniform of the detested enemy, but before his sword could touch the armour of his opponent something heavy crashed over his helmet and blackness engulfed him. O’Neill hoped that the blow was mortal.

\---------------------------------------

Hours later he awakened to the sound of someone calling his name and to the harsh kicks of boots into his side.

“Hey, Colonel, wake up! Time to see the Vicegerent!”

Jack noticed that he was lying on the floor of a room that was clearly a prison cell. The barred door and the sparse furnishing that consisted of only a mattress and a bucket in one corner being a clear indication that this wasn’t his comfy home. And obviously he wasn’t dead, as he had hoped, or this was a very strange type of hell. He had been divested of his armour and chain-mail, but that was fine with him, the cell being warm and stuffy. To stop the kicking he scrambled to a sitting position, leaning heavily against the wall at his back. He opened his eyes and saw three guards inside his cell, eyeing him suspiciously and clutching their weapons warily. It looked like his reputation had preceded him. He suppressed a grin.

“The Vicegerent demands to see you”, the same guard repeated.

“No problem. Tell him he’s cordially invited to my spacious mansion whenever he’s got time on his hands. But don’t forget to inform him to bring something to sit on. I seem to be dreadfully lacking in furniture.”

“Stop your insolence!” The guard directed his weapon, a deadly looking firearm, at O’Neill’s head and ordered: “Get up!”

You didn’t survive a battle to get shot by a guard, Jack reasoned. Therefore he tried – with help from the wall – to get up. He felt sore everywhere, his head was aching and he bet there was somewhere on his skull a bump the size of a damn goose egg at least. Otherwise he didn’t seem seriously injured. He swiftly tried his legs, arms and fingers but everything was in fine working order and he followed the guards. They climbed stairs and strode through long corridors before they entered a great hall, richly decorated with paintings from victorious battles. O’Neill pulled a grimace.

There were a lot of people standing around, discussing animatedly but they cleared the way for him and the guards. When he had crossed nearly two thirds of the room, the guard announced pompously, “The Vicegerent!”

A richly clad man disengaged from a group of people, turned and waited for Jack to approach the last steps.

“Daniel!” O’Neill shouted, absolutely taken by surprise, and stared in complete disbelief at the man before him.

“Jack.” Daniel was barely able to school his features into something resembling indifference. Finally, finally, Jack was at his mercy! He had waited so long for this moment to happen! Daniel’s lips curled into a deriding grin and his answer sounded loud in the silence that followed Jack’s outburst. “Don’t you think a more appropriate place to address me from would be on your knees, Colonel O’Neill?” Two guards stepped closer but with a sign of his hand Daniel stopped them. Instead, he looked directly at Jack. Challenging him.

Jack gulped but he was well aware of the hostile atmosphere around him and before the guards could push him too roughly, he lowered himself carefully to his knees before Daniel.

 _Daniel Jackson_ , whom he had last seen, six, no, seven years ago. Seven years to transform the shy, soft-spoken, and often overeager young bookworm into a handsome, lordly and self-reliant man.

“What a nice surprise to meet you again,” Daniel stated in an over-friendly manner that made Jack cringe inwardly. “But I think we should get reacquainted in a more private environment.”

“As you wish,” Jack answered flippantly, but not daring to get up without being told.

Daniel nodded approvingly and told two guards to bring the prisoner to his room. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

\--------------------------------------------

Jack had enough time to chew this new development over. He didn’t like the taste too much. The guards had deposited him on the floor, his hands tied so loosely to the heavy desk that he could sit up, if he chose to, but not free himself. But for the moment he was fine lying on the nice, thick carpet that felt wonderful under his old, aching bones.

So, Daniel had made it to vicegerent then. Congratulations. But why had it to be him who had captured Jack? Why? Jack sighed deeply. He was well aware that Daniel had all the right in the world to hold a very serious grudge against him.

Up to seven years ago they had been friends. Best friends even. They had spent a lot of time together, had talked about anything and everything, ranging from politics to semantics, from sailing-ships to women. The whole thing. But unsubtle as he was, he hadn’t noticed when Daniel’s attitude had changed, when they had stopped talking about theory in fun – when Daniel started about practice in earnest.

When Daniel had asked him about forbidden love between men, he had answered vaguely; supporting theoretically a much more liberal position than he was inclined to support in real life. And that had been one of his biggest mistakes. Among other things.

Loud voices in the hallway heralded Daniel’s return. The door flew open with a forceful blow and Daniel, five guards, some servants and a kicking and screaming man entered the room.

“This is outrageous! I demand to see the King! I’m of noble birth and … Jack? … Jack!” The elder man stopped short in his tracks and stared disbelievingly at his son.

Jack was shocked. He had been convinced that his father had escaped! To see him also a prisoner bode ill for their city. “Father,” he acknowledged with resignation in his voice and sat up.

“A nice family reunion, isn’t it?” Daniel asked maliciously. “Nearly like in the good old times.” He chuckled spitefully, and after the guards had secured the older O’Neill to a heavy chair, he ordered them to leave the room.

Daniel addressed himself to the father, only badly concealing his excitement. “Tomorrow you’ll be subjected to public ridicule and pilloried. A whole day, everybody in this town will have the possibility to … eh … tell to your face what they think of your unjustified expansion policy that has cost so many lives in the past. Having been too often the victims of your attacks, I think the townspeople will welcome this opportunity.”

“No!” both O’Neills shouted at the same time. “No!”

“Yes. It’s not open to negotiation. It will demoralize your troops to see you like that.” Daniel looked haughtily between the two of them.

“You can’t do that to my father!” Jack was filled with indignation.

“I demand to see the King!” the general repeated.

“You will. After tomorrow. For now, I still have an unfinished business with your son.” With these words Daniel turned to Jack. “Lie down!”

Jack’s heart was sinking to his stomach. He could well imagine what unfinished business Daniel was talking about. It had haunted him for the past seven years. He had been such a coward, shell-shocked and troubled, but a coward nevertheless.

Daniel looked intently at the general and said, “It was a kiss. One single kiss. Nothing more. I never engaged in ‘illicit and abominable acts’ with your son. But when you caught us, you deemed it justified to confiscate all my possessions, to order your guards to beat me like a dog and to ban me forever from the city.” With each word, Daniel’s speech got more vehement and hateful. “You even put a reward on my head to make sure I never returned to … lead your precious son into temptation!”

“Hey!” Jack wanted to make a witty comment but he couldn’t think of one. Daniel was right. He had been temped. Totally stunned but tempted.

“And you,” Daniel got down on one knee beside Jack. “You never denied the accusations. Your efforts to defend me were half-hearted at best, and not at all convincing.” He let his index-finger trail over Jack’s chin.

“Everything went so fast,” Jack tried to explain, wincing inwardly at how lame that sounded. The truth was his thoughts had been in an uproar. He had been shaken by the realization that Daniel’s lips promised something he wanted and wasn’t allowed to want.

“Now we have time,” Daniel assured him.

“You’re a sick bastard, Jackson!” the general yelled.

“No, I’m not sick!” Daniel sprang to his feet. He tore at his jacket and pulled it off. Underneath he was wearing only a black, richly embroidered vest that showed off his muscular arms. “But I already paid heavily for something that I’m going to collect today!” He turned so that the general and Jack could see the welted scars crisscrossing his left arm.

Jack stared at the sight, only remembering not to do it open-mouthed in afterthought. But it weren’t the scars that held his attention, although he regretted that Daniel had a lifelong reminder of the beating he had endured. What fascinated him even more was the body hidden under the jacket. Daniel had been beautiful when he was younger but now he was drop-dead gorgeous! Masculine, athletic; a man, not a boy anymore. But then realization hit him. ‘To collect’ – that sounded like much more than a simple kiss in the presence of his father. That sounded like … somewhere Jack’s imagination refused to go. He had to try to stop this before it got out of hand.

“Daniel?” When he was sure the staring contest between his father and Daniel was finished and Daniel turned to him, he said with all the sincerity he could muster, “I’m very, very sorry for what happened. And I beg your forgiveness for not having supported you. I …”

“It’s too late, Jack.” With one swift movement Daniel pulled on Jack’s legs until he was lying flat on the carpet, straddled Jack’s thighs and started unbuttoning Jack’s shirt.

“No! No!” Jack tried to kick him but Daniel’s weight on his legs didn’t permit for much leverage. He tried in vain to get his hands loose but the leather restraints didn’t yield one iota. He was desperate. His friendship with Daniel had been one of the best things in his life, and he didn’t want it sullied in this way. He couldn’t stand the thought of being forced into something that should be precious and consensual.

“Yes. But …” Daniel sniffed, a deep frown forming between his eyebrows, a gesture Jack knew too well and which reminded him heartbreakingly of the younger Daniel. “You stink,” he declared.

“Sorry to insult your dainty nose,” Jack quipped.

“No offence taken,” Daniel assured him maddeningly calm while he fetched a basin with scented water and a cloth from the nearby washstand.

“Daniel, don’t do this,” Jack tried to reason with him once more when he returned and tore open Jack’s shirt to pull it over his shoulders.

“I have to,” Daniel whispered, and with tender strokes he bathed Jack’s skin. “The hope to be able do this one day is what got me through the first difficult years. I owe it to myself.”

Jack closed his eyes for a minute. He and his father, they both had been wrong. Very wrong. His father for ordering all these atrocities and he for not stopping him, for taking the coward’s way out. It had been so much easier not to face his feelings; he hadn’t intervened and only two months later he had gone as far as marrying a noble young lady to make himself forget this incident. The marriage had never stood a chance and three years ago, after the birth of the long awaited heir, they had separated more or less officially. His wife had retired permanently to one of the country estates; he had stayed in the city.

He did feel guilty but all that guilt didn’t justify Daniel’s actions now.

When Daniel pulled down his trousers and he was lying naked and exposed in front of his father and Daniel, Jack spat out, “You aren’t any better than we are! You are violating your own high principles in the name of revenge! You’re a hypocrite!”

“Perhaps.” Daniel didn’t let himself be forced into a reaction and continued to clean methodically the bloodstains, the sweat and the dirt from Jack’s body. There wasn’t anything sexual in the act – yet.

Jack pulled again on the leather bindings and tried to wriggle out from under Daniel’s hands but Daniel unerringly continued his sponge bath; his hands gliding over Jack’s right leg now, turning the foot delicately in his hand and paying attention not to tickle him. If it had been under other circumstances, Jack would have admired the reverence with which Daniel treated his body. Given the unpleasant situation, he dreaded the moment when Daniel’s hands would touch his most private parts. And the moment came nearer and nearer, the cloth already rubbing over his left thigh.

“Please, Daniel.” Jack’s eyes begged the other man to spare him, not to cross this last, invisible line.

“Shhh, Jack. It’s alright.” But Jack saw the indecision in Daniel’s eyes and felt the hesitation in a move which didn’t progress further.

The general had been unusually quiet during the last minutes and hadn’t heard the whispered conversation. He had however meticulously – and with increasing disgust – observed Daniel’s proceedings, and he now interrupted, “You’re are a pervert, Jackson! May you rot in hell! You and the whole bunch of yours! I despise you!”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed and Jack saw the determination and the hatred re-emerge. He sighed in irritation. His father was such an insensible pigheaded mule! Of course, Daniel now touched his cock with the cloth in his hand and made a show of cleaning and rubbing Jack in that special place.

He looked directly at the general and asked, “See how I touch your son? His body belongs to me now, mine to do with as I please. Your proud son, the apple of your eye, now just as good as any other trollop to satisfy my needs. And you have nothing to say in this matter!”

“Leave him alone!”

“No! And this is only the beginning! I want you to have something to think about when you’re standing at the pillory tomorrow!” Deliberately, he stroked his bare hand over Jack’s shaft, all pretence gone.

“I’m not going to the pillory!” The general cried frantically. “Now stop it!”

Daniel kneaded Jack’s balls possessively. “No!” This was a demonstration of power, directed at the general. No more, no less.

Only when Daniel heard a choked sound from the man beneath him, did his gaze meet Jack’s. The despair and accusation he saw there brought him up short. For one second he stared disbelievingly at Jack, at his own hand, then back at Jack’s face, and he snatched his hand away as if he had burned himself.

“I … I’m sorry. I can’t do this to you.” He spread the towel he had brought with him over Jack’s body to restore a bit of his dignity. “I’m sorry.” Without another word he got up and started pacing the room. He could still feel the vibrating anger in him but he knew that Jack was the wrong target.

Jack observed him silently and pensively. This was the Daniel he remembered, compassionate even for someone who didn’t entirely deserve it. His actions in the past had destroyed their friendship, politics had turned them into enemies but Daniel couldn’t bring himself to treat him like one. Jack briefly wondered how Daniel had made it to vicegerent, but then he remembered Daniel’s diplomatic skills – when they were younger, he had often achieved more with mere charm than Jack with forceful stubbornness – and he thought that perhaps Daniel’s way of governing a city also had its advantages.

But Jack was also a statesman and as such he planned to take advantage of Daniel’s mellow mood. Jack glanced at his father who glared at Daniel hatefully. He had to find a solution to this predicament before his father caused further damage. One way or the other he had to bring his father out of the line of fire. Jack was convinced that his chances to ride this unpleasant situation out were greater if he was alone with Daniel. Daniel’s reaction had shown clearly that he – still – felt more for Jack than he was willing to let on.

Unfortunately, where his father was concerned, Jack wasn’t too optimistic. No mercy for him, Daniel had been hurt too deeply in the past. He would expose Jack’s father to the wrath of the people without regret. Jack couldn’t stand the thought of the proud and unrelenting man having to endure the humiliation of the pillory tomorrow. He was sure that this shame would break the old man. He wouldn’t survive this ignominy. Even if he had treated Daniel cruelly and unfairly – he still was his father and Jack couldn’t allow it. Born from desperation, a wild and crazy plan began to form in his head.

He lifted his head, propped himself on one elbow and asked, “If I let you continue, will you send my father directly to the King and spare him public humiliation?” He wasn’t entirely sure why he thought that was a good idea, he only knew with certainty that Daniel would never hurt him.

“Jack!” In unison, shocked and surprised, the cry rang through the room. The horror was clear in the general’s voice, while Daniel stared wide-eyed at Jack and asked cautiously, “What … are you offering?”

“What do you want?” Jack really tried to play it nonchalantly.

“I…“

“You can’t do that, son!” the general interrupted furiously. “I forbid you to do that! It’s immoral and depraved!”

“You want to spend twelve hours or more in close physical contact with the friendly inhabitants of this town?” Jack asked sarcastically.

“No.”

“Then let me handle this.”

Daniel bit on his lower lip, waiting for the general’s reaction, or rather his rejection of this proposition but O’Neill senior didn’t protest.

God! A father selling out his son’s honour to save his own.

It took Daniel a moment to digest this after the vehement accusations of immorality that had been thrown in his face. But who was he to judge? The general tried to save his hide, Jack offered his body as bribe money and he planned on accepting it, even if his political common sense flinched at the idea and he would have a lot of explaining to do.

All three of them were really cut from the same cloth!

Daniel crouched where Jack was lying on the floor, and looking directly into Jack’s eyes, he asked, “If I send him immediately to the King, you’ll … spend the night with me? I have your word?”

“Deal.” Jack couldn’t say more because he wasn’t sure his voice wouldn’t betray him. The first rush of the moment being over, he was beginning to question what could have prompted him into making this outrageous offer. And he had even more time to ponder the wisdom of his decision because Daniel went to his secretary, wrote a short letter, sealed it and put it into a leather wrapper. He then summoned several guards and servants, told the former to escort the general back to his cell, the others to prepare everything to dispatch the general one day prior than planned, and sent a servant to the stables.

With every order, Jack felt his tension increase, a strange mix of fear and anticipation submerging him. He tried to calm down and convince himself that Daniel would be gentle. Even when he had been full of hatred earlier on, all his movements had been careful and tender. If Jack offered no resistance now, it should be okay.

When his father was at the threshold, Jack, who wouldn’t see him depart without a farewell said, “May the King be well disposed towards you.” The general went rigid for a second, but didn’t answer. He left the room without a backwards glance.

How could his father be so ungrateful, so cold? The cruel rejection hurt Jack more than he would ever admit out loud, and it made him feel incredibly vulnerable. After all, he was literally putting his ass on the line to save his father’s reputation – and the man didn’t even spare him a last look! Jack felt distressed and helpless because the approval and the respect of his father had always been very important to him. A frisson ran down his back, and with increasing embarrassment, Jack became aware once again of his only barely concealed nudity when he saw the pitying look the last servant sent in his direction before leaving the room.

Then they were alone.

Daniel locked the door, fetched two glasses of wine from the table and sat down beside Jack. He freed one of Jack’s wrists and handed him the wine. Jack drank greedily, Daniel only sipped it.

“You’re thirsty?”

“I skipped dinner and breakfast,” Jack admitted.

Daniel went to the table, fetched some slices of cake, some grapes and water for Jack. They ate in companionable silence. When Jack indicated with a pat to his stomach that he’d had enough, Daniel pushed the remains aside and put the water carafe back on the desk. On his way back he stopped directly in front of Jack and his gaze travelled admiringly and nearly tenderly over the man on the floor.

“Examining your prize?” Jack regretted his words the moment they left his mouth. The food and the water had refreshed him, and for one second he had forgotten his unenviable situation and had given free rein to his mouth. He saw how Daniel tensed.

With two quick steps Daniel was kneeling down beside Jack and freeing his other hand. When Jack made no attempts to move, he ordered, “Get up, Jack!” Oh, yes, Jack was his prize all right. How nice of Jack to remind him of that!

With a theatrical long-suffering look on his face Jack climbed to his feet.

“Drop the towel.”

“You’re sure? See, I …” But Daniel’s haughty expression and raised eyebrows made him realize that perhaps it would be better not to antagonize him further.

With a sigh he let go of the last “garment” protecting his nudity. Jack clenched his fists to overcome the impulse to cover himself up. He fixed his gaze on the richly embroidered tapestry behind Daniel, portraying satyrs, nymphs, gods and goddesses in a round dance of playful love and lust. Damn appropriate.

“Turn around.” Daniel accompanied his order with a swirling motion of his index finger and Jack bit down hard on his tongue not to let escape a cutting remark how degrading this was. Because that would be Daniel’s plan, wouldn’t it? There must be a considerable element of revenge in Daniel’s proceedings, even if Jack hoped for himself that it was foremost some sort of … desire Daniel felt for him. He prayed fervently he hadn’t miscalculated the situation.

Reluctantly, he turned around and thought he could feel Daniel’s scrutinizing and burning gaze on his back … and his ass. He was much too naked for his liking, much too exposed. He jerked involuntarily when Daniel’s fingers touched his back, trailing languidly from his shoulder-blades down to his tailbone. Although Daniel had already touched him more intimately this evening, this touch felt much more personal than Daniel’s little demonstration of ownership for the sake of his father.

Daniel asked himself what was going through Jack’s head at the moment. Was he really as reluctant as he tried to make Daniel believe? Had the teachings of his father had such an impact on him? Or had he come to regret, over the years, that everything had stopped with that first kiss?

Daniel’s hand glided down Jack’s arms and spread over Jack’s hands which opened when he touched them.

He had never been able to ban Jack completely from his thoughts, there were too many memories. They had parted in anger and hatred but the years had mellowed his disappointment in Jack’s behaviour; it had been impossible to entirely forget their friendship and the deep connection they had shared. He was hoping that this evening wasn’t for Jack a simple bargain he fulfilled unwillingly.

When his hands travelled to Jack’s chest after a while and he brushed over Jack’s nipple with his thumb, he felt Jack shudder.

Jack didn’t know what to think. The room seemed much too warm and so did Daniel’s hands, burning into his skin. It felt so sinful that these gentle fingers belonged to a man, but at the same time it felt so good that this was Daniel; he was fascinated. He felt his arousal awaken; hated himself for it and welcomed it at the same time because a conclusion to this unpleasant affair was long overdue. He relaxed a bit more and started to savour Daniel’s tender ministration. It dawned on him that perhaps his father had been wrong. “I don’t think it’s immoral and depraved,” he blurted out.

Daniel asked sarcastically, “The prospect of doing it yourself changed your mind?” With a brusque movement he turned Jack around, grabbed his head and kissed him. Forced his lips so brutally on him that he had to open his mouth and let Daniel’s tongue in.

Jack struggled, tried to make a step backwards, but Daniel hissed, “No! My conditions!” and kissed him once more. They fought for dominance in this second kiss and when Daniel couldn’t achieve it, he stopped.

“Bedroom,” he ordered, panting heavily. He strode to one of the doors at the far end of the room and didn’t turn around to see if Jack followed him.

For a second Jack thought about resisting … but his father was still at Daniel’s mercy. And he had given his word. Following Daniel was his only option.

When he entered the bedroom Daniel had already lit several candles. The warm glow highlighted the big four-poster bed in the centre of the room and suddenly Jack felt the enormity of what he was about to do. He gulped nervously, images of naked men rolling around on the bed swirled through his mind. Oh, my God. No.

Daniel broke the spell by laying his hand on Jack’s shoulder to gain his attention. “Undress me, Jack,” he said, making sure not to let it sound like an order, because he had seen the turmoil in Jack’s eyes. He wanted to take Jack on his conditions but he wouldn’t do anything against Jack’s will. And Jack looked as if he needed a distraction from his distressing thoughts.

He knew it had been the right thing to do as Jack focused again.

“For sure, Daniel,” he replied with some of his usual cheekiness and set to work. Jack’s hands battled with the lacings and fastenings on Daniel’s vest – ‘bloody nuisances’, as Jack called them – but finally he managed to pull the vest down Daniel’s arms and the garment fell to the floor. Jack stared at Daniel’s bare chest and tentatively let his hand glide over it. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen Daniel naked. In the past they had often bathed au naturel together, even playfully battled in the water, but it was the first time he was touching Daniel’s chest in an overtly sexual manner. And he liked it. Liked the smoothness that belied the strong muscles he could feel underneath. Loved the warmth and the responsiveness of Daniel’s nipples as he brushed his fingertips over them. Loved the way Daniel closed his eyes for a second and breathed hard. Suddenly, Jack was aware that not all the power lay with Daniel in this encounter; he also had a certain vantage ground.

This realization helped him not to resist when Daniel made him take three steps backwards and pushed him urgently onto the bed. And he flinched only slightly when Daniel undressed completely and he saw his already impressive hard-on – and thought about where this was meant to be going later. He thought about panicking.

But Daniel interrupted his meandering thoughts effectively by crawling languidly up the bed, kneeling on all fours over Jack’s body, leaning forward and kissing him again. His kisses were travelling from Jack’s chin to Jack’s ear to Jack’s mouth, claiming him, claiming his body. After a moment he fixed Jack with an intent gaze and asked, “Do I have to tie you up again so that you can pretend you have no choice? Or do you prefer to be able to reciprocate?”

“Daniel!” Jack looked totally scandalized but then he remembered that only a few minutes ago he had had similar thoughts about sacrificing himself nobly on the altar of filial love. “You haven’t changed a bit, you know,” Jack complained loudly. “You’re still trying to over-analyze everything.” He thwacked Daniel in the ribs.

The truth of it was that Jack had never taken responsibility for what had happened between them. He’d always refused to acknowledge that what they had almost done had been wanted and desired – on both parts. Denial was a very powerful sentiment. Even now he was still trying to find himself some attenuating circumstances, still trying to invent himself some excuses for participating in an act he’d always been told was shameful and disgusting. An act he’d always felt irrepressibly curious about. An act he’d always been sorely tempted to indulge in with the man presently – and conveniently – cornering him into it.

Daniel laughed and with that a lot of the tension was gone. They weren’t just the victorious vicegerent and his spoils of war anymore – they were also two men who had known and liked each other for a very long time. The past came rushing back; lazy, sunny days in the meadows spent discussing all sorts of eclectic subjects, silly pranks played to the neighbours, fierce debates about who would get the last chocolate; Jack stealing it, Daniel bitching but forgiving him always in the end. It seemed as if Daniel would forgive him even his greatest betrayal. All he had to do was accommodate Daniel a bit, show him that he was agreeing with the course this evening was taking. He was tired of being a “high-profile” coward, and he seemed to have lost his father’s tenuous respect anyway. So what was there to lose? There was no reason not to take this leap of faith with Daniel.

“Is that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’?” Daniel insisted. This time he would force Jack to face the facts. He would insist on an answer, no more hiding behind “duty” and “I had no choice” for Jack.

“Someone very clever once told me that you can’t answer an ‘or-question’ with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” Jack grinned. “But …” He forestalled Daniel’s objection with a finger to Daniel’s lips. “I … want it. And if you need to tie me up, I’m fine with it.” That wasn’t entirely the truth but all of a sudden Jack wondered if Daniel always had imagined a scenario like that and needed it to rule off.

“Thank you, Jack, for your trust.” Daniel rolled onto Jack’s side and his fingers moved smoothly and admiringly over Jack’s body. “But I think, for today, I prefer you to be able to touch me as well.” Daniel’s fingers lightly stroked Jack’s cock.

“For today?” Jack managed to choke out.

“Do we only have this evening?” Daniel’s insistent finger was now behind Jack’s balls and waves of arousal were running through Jack’s body. With a helpless groan he opened his legs further to give Daniel better access.

“No.” Jack didn’t know how the political situation could be solved; but he knew without a doubt that on the personal level this was only the beginning. He had finally made up his mind – and had only needed seven years to do so. He was really quick on the uptake. But when Daniel’s first finger breached his body, he also breached his last defences and Jack knew that it had been worth the wait …

 

\---------THE END------

 

©Antares, April 2008


End file.
